Chapter 1 The Standard

No one among the cultivators in the world is unaware of the Ten Ferocious Sovereigns. In a sense, these ten naturally powerful demon-ghosts are the ‘beacon’ for all cultivators, past and present.

Immortal and eternal, they are the true 'historical record,' imprinted with all the years, the 'historical record' of everything.

For sixty years, Sa Wuling had heard far too many rumors about the Ten Ferocious Sovereigns, so naturally he was very interested.

Of course, the more important reason was that the Ten Ferocious Sovereigns were of great importance. If they were to escape, it would be a great calamity for all living beings, and no one could stand aloof.

Whoosh~

Among the mountains, the void rippled with an iridescent glow. As the ripples spread, Sa Wuling stepped out and pressed his hand on Wang E's shoulder, who was about to explode.

Wang E was originally filled with raging anger, but with Sa Wuling's gentle touch on his shoulder, the fire in his heart instantly dissipated, and a peaceful aura filled his entire body.

Sa Wuling stood with his hands clasped behind his back, surveying the surrounding mountains.

He saw beautiful mountains and rivers, the autumn sun not diminishing the green. Misty water vapor lingered between the mountains, like a fairyland.

But in his eyes, this place contained a trace of indescribable terror.

Tianji Daoren sat cross-legged under an old tree, alone and with a calm expression.

Sa Wuling retracted his gaze and spoke faintly:

"The feng shui here is excellent, surrounded by mountains, the earth's veins rising, and surrounded by flowing water, adding to its grandeur. It is a good place,

But sadly..."

No matter how good it was, if it was related to the Ten Ferocious Sovereigns, it would no longer be 'good'.

"For sixty years, I have heard too many stories about you, little friend. Seeing you today, you indeed have the style of your master."

Tianji Daoren sighed slightly:

"No wonder Da Kong Daoyou keeps thinking about it..."

"Da Kong?"

Ghostly flames flickered in Yan Xiake's eyes.

Among the mountains, above the great river winding like a dragon, a middle-aged monk in a slanting kasaya stepped out.

He stepped on the turbulent river water. The crimson kasaya was blown by the river wind, revealing his bronze shoulders, on which a scarlet dragon-shaped tattoo was faintly visible.

"Da Kong, you've come too?"

Sa Wuling looked up, seemingly surprised, but also as if he had known it all along.

The person who came was named Da Kong, the current living Buddha of Zheyu Temple in Daqing Prefecture, who had achieved the Golden Body for more than three hundred years.

Zheyu Temple was established by a rebel monk of the Rulai Academy, and its lineage had continued for more than two thousand years.

But unlike the Rulai Academy, this Zheyu Temple acted cruelly, with fierce killings, often exterminating entire families. It killed demons, it killed people, it killed the good, and it killed the bad.

Anyone who opposed it would use any means necessary. In name it was a Buddhist sect, but in reality, it was a completely heretical sect.

During the sixty years that he had promoted the new law, he had faced several life-and-death crises, all related to this Da Kong's Zheyu Temple.

To be precise, it was this old monk Da Kong.

It was not until six years ago, after he achieved success in thunder magic, that he severely injured him, and he finally ceased his activities.

"Sa Wuling, long time no see, you're still not dead?"

Da Kong stopped on the river, his slightly hoarse voice carrying undisguised killing intent.

"You are much older than me, so it should be you who dies first."

Sa Wuling chuckled and ignored the old monk. He looked at Tianji Daoren again, his tone filled with regret:

"Daoren is willing to associate with such evil beings for the sake of the Ten Ferocious Sovereigns. This makes this junior look down on you."

"Heaven and earth have Dao, and people have life and death. We seek the Dao while alive, and when we die, the Dao is extinguished. Compared to life and death, what does it matter whether you look up to me or not?"

Tianji Daoren remained calm, a faint glimmer of light flickering in his indifferent eyes:

"It is you who has learned ten out of ten points from your teacher..."

"It seems that Daoren has quite a bit of resentment towards my teacher..."

Sa Wuling shook his head slightly, as if sighing:

"It's a pity that teacher doesn't care about your resentment at all..."

He naturally knew that Tianji Daoren had resentment towards An Qisheng.

Sixty years ago, this Tianji Daoren targeted the Heavenly Intent Religion, and his ultimate goal was for the Ten Ferocious Sovereigns, but An Qisheng had ruined it.

It was only natural to have resentment.

However, in the Great Green cultivation world, and even among the cultivators in the world, those who resented and hated An Qisheng, the Taiji Daoist, were numerous, and he didn't care about adding one more Tianji Daoren.

Tianji Daoren's eyes narrowed, and then calmed down:

"Your teacher is naturally remarkable..."

In the years after the failure to target the Heavenly Intent Religion, he had repeatedly calculated the weaknesses of that Taiji Daoist An Qisheng.

But each time, the weaknesses he calculated were completely different.

Three years after the disintegration of the Heavenly Intent Religion, he was no longer able to capture any of his weaknesses at all.

That was why he had traveled far to the Eastern Extremes, to the shores of the East Sea.

"Alright, Daoren should have acted silently. If you didn't want to make things difficult, you wouldn't have sought me out presumptuously. Therefore, please speak directly."

Sa Wuling stopped wasting words and went straight to the point.

He would never allow the Ten Ferocious Sovereigns to escape, because his teacher would not allow it.

Tianji Daoren knew this, yet he still came to seek him out, so he must have something to rely on.

"Little friend is straightforward."

Tianji Daoren clapped his hands and smiled, no longer speaking empty words:

"For thousands of years, I have been searching for the traces of the Ten Ferocious Sovereigns. Although the means of sealing by the Netherworld Monarch are strong, there are still traces left behind.

Beneath this Ezhou, there is one, whose name is Chu!"

Chu?

Sa Wuling frowned slightly, and many pieces of information surfaced in his mind.

Chu, also known as the Sun-Swallowing Toad, rampaged between heaven and earth in ancient times and was extremely ferocious. Its belly seemed endless, and it could swallow the stars in the sky with its mouth open.

A single breath could poison all humans and animals within ten thousand miles.

Legend has it that the mountains of Wuzhou were contaminated by the poisonous gas it spewed out when it was suppressed by the Netherworld Monarch. Even after tens of millions of years, they are still filled with miasma.

Even the rainwater still contains toxins!

This great demon-ghost was not the most bloodthirsty of the Ten Ferocious Sovereigns, but it was undoubtedly the most terrifying to all living beings!

"The countless demon-ghosts in this Ezhou over millions of years are all transformed from its aura, so they cannot be killed completely!"

As the expressions of the people changed, the monk Da Kong strode forward and spoke remotely:

"Brother Tianji, you know the location of its seal. If you and I join forces, we can break the seal and enter. Why do you need to find this person to join forces? Wouldn't it be better for you and I to join forces, first kill this fiend, and then break the seal!"

Whoosh~

The great river flowing eastward surged and billowed, the water vapor rising up, as if to flow backwards into the sky, and a strong wind suddenly rose between the mountains.

Wang E looked up.

He only felt that as the great monk strode forward, it was as if the mountains were pressing down together. His aura was extremely majestic, and his mana was as vast as the Yangtze River.

It was the strongest and most powerful he had ever seen in his life.

"Master, please be calm!"

Tianji Daoren stood up, his aura distant, as if the starry sky was spreading, and even more above the mountains. A vast aura instantly enveloped Da Kong's majestic aura.

The latter's heart stirred and stopped.

Ripples appeared in the depths of Sa Wuling's eyes, and he looked at Tianji Daoren with an unchanging expression:

"Daoren should know that it is not difficult for me to take action, but it is not necessarily against the seal..."

Now, he was no longer the old mountain village Taoist who would run away when in danger. Even when facing the world's top Yuanshen true men, he had no fear in his heart.

With weapons in hand, the heart of killing arises; with great wealth, noble spirit is born; with great power, imposing manner is formed.

"I have been planning for decades, waiting for this day to arrive..."

Tianji Daoren waved his hand casually, and seemingly endless divine light rolled out from his billowing sleeves:

"Since you have already come here, what happens next is beyond your control."

Buzz buzz buzz~~~

The divine light was brighter than the sun, more dazzling than any light in the world. Once it burst out, it seemed to illuminate the void and penetrate reality.

Sa Wuling concentrated his attention.

He saw that as the divine light shone, the surrounding mountains and rivers faded, the great river receded, and the void stretched endlessly in all directions. In a daze, even the colors of heaven and earth changed.

"This is?"

Wang E's expression changed. He was standing silently in the sky, thousands of feet high.

The world below was like water, unreal and illusory. Under the illumination of the divine light, the mountains and rivers no longer had their original colors.

Everything in sight had become a deathly and silent iron-green color, and a faint, dim aura filled everything in heaven and earth, and even the endless divine light could not blow it away like a tide.

It was as if, in an instant, the world had been changed.

Looking at the transformed world in front of him, Yan Xiake's heart sank:

"Sealed space!"

After the void was illuminated by the divine light, what remained was reality. In other words, what was seen after illuminating reality was illusion.

The so-called other dimensions, sealed spaces, were all rooted in the human world, false realms that were both real and illusory.

Like the Netherworld realm, which was infinitely large, seeming to be comparable to the human world. However, it was ultimately attached to the human world, attached to this heaven and earth, rather than an independently existing heaven and earth.

It was not much different from the stars rotating around the human world.

But what was insignificant to the world was far too terrifying to the individual in such an other dimension.

"The Netherworld Monarch of that year had reached the pinnacle of creation, his strength was extraordinary and immeasurable, and could no longer be described by Yuanshen. The place where he sealed the Ten Ferocious Sovereigns was neither in heaven nor on earth, but only between the virtual and the real.

This place is the space where he sealed Chu, attached to the eighteen great prefectures and thirty-two small prefectures, including Ezhou, but it is not in the human world.

Although it is only a sealed space, it is still far more powerful than the other dimensions left behind by the ancient and remote ancient mighty beings."

Tianji Daoren's sleeves fluttered, with a leisurely longing:

"Such great power is what we seek..."

Only by living can one pursue the ultimate of the Dao.

"Does Daoren know what kind of consequences this demon-ghost will have if it breaks out of the seal?"

Yan Xiake spoke in a deep voice:

"Under the corrosion of the poisonous gas, not only will all the creatures in Ezhou die, but it will also poison the world and cause endless disasters!"

"So what?"

Tianji Daoren's expression was indifferent:

"No one can eternally seal the Ten Ferocious Sovereigns. Even the Netherworld Monarch, within thousands of years, the Ten Ferocious Sovereigns will inevitably break out of the seal.

That is the beginning of the doomsday calamity. All living beings will eventually be completely destroyed. What difference does it make whether they die sooner or later?"

Doomsday calamity...

A glimmer of light flashed in Sa Wuling's eyes. He suddenly picked up Wang E and Yan Xiake, stepping into the sky. In a few leaps, he crossed hundreds or thousands of feet.

Da Kong's expression changed, and he was about to give chase.

But Tianji Daoren waved his hand, his eyes gleaming:

"I have spent decades, exhausting the rare and precious treasures accumulated over a thousand years, to break into this sealed space. Once you enter, let alone this Sa Wuling, even his teacher will not be able to get out easily!"

Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~

The wind blew and the clouds moved. After a few steps, Sa Wuling had made the mountains below small and invisible. It seemed that he was about to step into the starry sky, but this void seemed to have no end.

"This is troublesome..."

Yan Xiake's heart sank.

But Sa Wuling suddenly stopped in the air, his eyes looking down, and suddenly spoke:

"Look, these majestic mountains, all the way to the end of the horizon, with Ezhou as the center, don't these dozens of state and county mountains look like an extremely huge toad lying on the ground?"